Selfish Love
by Ozuttly
Summary: M-21 loved M-24. But M-24 is gone, and M-21 is alone. Or is he? Frankenstein tries to teach him the truth about his human emotions. FrankensteinxM-21, M-24xM-21. Noblesse fanfic.


Hullo~ Here's something a bit different from what I normally write, at least I think so, for a very obscure fandom this time. It's a oneshot and probably won't be continued, and I'm pretty sure this pairing is not popular at all but. I had an urge to write something between these two. 8D So enjoy the Noblesse fun. Contains spoilers for chapter 75+, I think, so be warned.

Summary: M-21 loved M-24. But M-24 is gone, and M-21 is alone. Or is he? Frankenstein tries to teach him the truth about his human emotions. FrankensteinxM-21, M-24xM-21.

Snow. It wasn't the first time that he had seen it – he'd had minor missions in the past that required him to go to northern countries, out in the ice and cold. But it was the first time that he'd ever seen the snow in such a peaceful place. Without having to worry about anything…

His fingers gently ran along the railing of the veranda, the sound of children shouting and laughing filling his ears. That was right… Those kids had come over to play again. For once they weren't inside, and instead were having some kind of snowball fight in the large house's meager backyard. Even Tao and Takio have joined in, he mused as his eyes focused on the two grown men running around with the group of high-school students. His lips curled upwards into a small smile, the scar at the edge of his mouth twisting with the movement.

M-24 had always loved kids. What was it that he always used to say, again? That he thought he had a younger brother or sister back in his old life.

It was true; he had always been the brotherly type. Always willing to offer a shoulder to cry on or lift your spirits when you were sad. Always looking out for others, even if they had nothing to do with him. Willing to give his life in order to save innocents who weren't involved. 24 had been a good man. A very, very good man.

_"Hmm… When I look at you, I feel like you're my little brother, so why don't you call me hyung from now on?" On his face was a silly smile as he spoke those words. Even though he looked so scary, with a build that would make even a pro-wrestler quake in his boots and a face suited to a gangster, I always remember feeling that his smile was breathtaking. It was infectious, and always erased my worries. _

_Even when he said those words that I didn't want to hear, I couldn't feel completely crushed. After all, even I don't really know what I expected our relationship to be. I had only ever known us to be comrades. We had a bond closer and tighter than that of mere siblings, stronger than the blood-ties between family members. We were all that one another had left. He was everything to me. _

_But being a little brother wasn't all that bad. Even though it hurt, just a little bit, that our feelings weren't evenly matched, I couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped my lips. Hyung? I could never bring myself to call him something like that. _

_"Don't make me laugh." _

"Hyung! You already got hit! You cheater!"

The cries from below snapped him out of his reminiscing as he looked down at the children and their game. Tao was laughing like he usually did, a snowball in each hand while the kids were shouting about how he was being unfair. How nice, to laugh like that. It seemed that they were really having fun.

"Hmm? So this is where you were, M-21." The voice from behind startled him, and he quickly spun around to see the owner of the house standing in the doorway. There was a tray of mugs in his hands, and M-21 knew that the kids must have bothered him to make hot chocolate. But today he didn't seem as angry as usual, the smile on his face somewhat more genuine.

He didn't like it. He owed a lot to this man, and he knew it, but being smiled at like that made him uncomfortable. It made his heart stir in a way that he wasn't used to, and he slowly averted his eyes as he turned back to the veranda overlooking the snowball fight below.

"I was just watching the kids," he replied, feeling like he needed to give a reason for his actions as he leaned against the railing, ignoring the cold wetness of the snow beneath his sleeves. "I haven't seen snow like this in… a long time."

He couldn't see the blond man's face behind him, but he could almost feel Frankenstein's eyebrows rising as he continued to watch the game. The last time that he had seen snow was when he was with M-24, and the depression that came from those thoughts was suffocating.

At first he had expected Frankenstein to simply leave, go deliver the drinks to the kids, but instead there was sudden heat against the side of his cheek. The mug was pulled away once his attention had been grabbed, and the blond held it out, still smiling.

"It's cold out here, now that it's winter. Drinking this will warm you up a bit. You should take better care of your body." His tone was just as warm as the brown liquid in the cup, and as M-21 took it in his hands, he got the feeling that his 'landlord' knew that he was thinking. However when his mouth opened once more, the subject was different. "The children were looking for you earlier. Shinwoo said that it would be no fun unless everybody joined in."

"Hnn… Watching from up here is fine for me," he said, never turning his eyes back to the other as he focused on the hot chocolate swirling around in the mug. He wasn't even watching the kids anymore, their voices becoming mere background noise as he noticed the tray of drinks had disappeared. Frankenstein must have put it down somewhere.

Perhaps he shouldn't have come out here after all. The painful, nostalgic feeling in his chest was growing stronger as he forced himself to sip from the cup in front of him, grey eyes sliding closed.

"You're all alone, hmm?" The voice startled him once more, his eyes snapping open as he spotted the blond leaning against the railing, their eyes meeting. What the hell was he saying? He knew the situation. He knew what happened to M-24. He /knew/ that he was alone. Was this another one of his little speeches?

"You know that I am," he said flatly, taking another sip. M-24 was gone. His only remaining comrade had died. Of course he had nobody else. "You saw what happened to… my friend." His voice trailed off, his eyes narrowing at the thought.

Frankenstein watched him as though he were watching an interesting test subject. His eyes were calculating, curious. It was as though he were trying to decide whether or not he should poke and prod at this creature, whether or not he should dissect him. M-21 hated it when he looked at him with those eyes.

The next thing he said caught him off-guard.

."I suppose you're right. When the one you love dies, it's hard for the human heart to recover."

Love? Was that what it was? No, he knew that he loved M-24. He had always loved him, ever since way back then.

_It was cold. I couldn't feel anything except for the cold. It was as though I was a newborn baby who knew nothing of the world, and was only experiencing life for the first time. I didn't know who I was or what had happened, only that I was cold. Cold and alone, I was unable to sense the warmth or presence of another person. _

_That was frightening. The most terrifying experience of my life was the first time I awoke, floating in that tank, completely alone. _

_I was afraid to open my eyes. I knew that if I did, I would see nothing, would confirm that there was nothing there. But at the same time, there was a small glimmer of hope, and that tiny little shred was what gave me the courage to finally open up my eyes, to see the world around me for the first time. _

_The first thing I saw was him looking back at me. He was larger than I was, an intimidating hulk of a man with no hair and skin that looked as though it had been burnt or badly bruised. Had I been a normal person, I would have likely feared him. But as we stared into one another's eyes, I could tell that we were thinking the same thing. _

_We weren't alone. We were together. Each in a different tank, separated and unable to speak to or even acknowledge one another, but we were already bonded. Close friends, brought together by a horrible situation. He was my first comrade in that white room with the rows and rows of tanks, each housing an experiment just like us. _

_My first and last comrade, and my first and last friend. _

Locking eyes with Frankenstein, M-21 was unable to read his expression. What was it, compassion? No, that man wouldn't feel compassion for him. Then… was it pity? He could feel heat in his face as he swallowed, his throat dry and uncomfortable suddenly.

"Didn't you go through the same thing? Losing your beloved master," he replied in a cool tone of voice. It wasn't out of anger, but rather out of pride. It was true, he had lost his most beloved person. He had lost the last person in the world who meant anything to him. But he did not want pity for it.

The blond man's face hardened before his smile became somewhat darker. It was a cruel smirk.

"Of course not. My feelings for master cannot be compared to such an impure, selfish emotion," he replied, his voice cold and smooth as steel as one pale hand flipped his blond curls over his shoulder. His words were like a razor blade, cutting through the feelings of the poor experiment in front of him. He was dissecting him, cutting him open to see what was inside.

It was working. M-21 could feel the anger rise in his chest, his eyes flashing with rage as he slammed his fist down against the railing. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Takio turning to look at him, but he didn't care.

"What about it is impure and selfish?" he growled, far angrier than he should have been because of such a small statement. Frankenstein hardly seemed phased as he simply smiled, the malice gone from his face but still present in his voice as he explained.

"When humans love one another, they act selfishly. They rely on one another and hope for their feelings to be returned. They force burdens onto their partners, and those who are loved are caused stress and worry. With parents and children, siblings or couples, everybody expects to gain out of a relationship, and they take and take. How can that be called anything else but selfish?"

M-21 was frozen. Selfish… Was that true? Had he forced M-24 to feel that way? Worried about his feelings, hurting him and stressing him. He hadn't told him that their loves weren't the same to avoid getting hurt… But was that in itself causing harm? His eyes were wide as he opened his mouth to ask, but he never got a chance.

Frankenstein's lips were warm. Not hot, like the feverish passion that was often described in books, but warm and moist. It was a comforting warmth, like that of the hot chocolate that was sitting, forgotten, on the veranda railing. Of course, he was far too shocked by the sudden action to respond to the kiss, and before his mind could even register what was happening, it was over.

"But… That kind of selfish, greedy love is also enviable, isn't it?" Frankenstein asked, leaning in close so that his mouth was next to M-21's ear, his breath warming up the cold-prickled skin. "M-21. You're a human, so you should learn to be more selfish every once in a while."

He pulled away with that, his smile back to how it was before, warm and harmless, his eyes closed as he grabbed the tray of mugs that he'd sat down nearby. "Even though you may think that you're alone and try not to rely on others, there are also people here who selfishly want you to be happy. The least you could do is grant them their wish and lean on them every once in a while."

His voice was gentle as he left the room, and soon enough M-21 could hear him speaking to the kids who had come inside out of the snow, warning about getting the carpet wet or dirty as he no-doubt distributed the now-cold drinks among them. Stepping back into the warmth of the house, still dazed about what had happened, the former experiment felt his hand subconsciously travel up to his mouth.

"Ah, ahjussi! You disappeared earlier! We could have had a three-on-three!" Shinwoo exclaimed as M-21 entered the room, an excited and joyful expression on his face. Judging by how crestfallen Tao looked, it seemed that the kids had won.

"Right, ahjussi! The hyungs could have used some extra support on their side!" Ikhan spoke next, pushing his frosted glasses further up his nose as he grinned, proud of his victory. Tao let out a groan, causing laughter to erupt amongst the group.

M-21 was unsure of how to respond as he looked from one to another, his mouth opening and then closing once more. Tao and Takio looked back at him curiously, and all he could do was turn to Frankenstein.

The blond man offered him another smile. No words were attached, but in his mind echoed what had been said mere moments before.

_Even though you may think that you're alone and try not to rely on others, there are also people here who selfishly want you to be happy._

He could feel a smile coming to his face. It was slight, hardly the grin that the students were wearing, but it was definitely there. Letting out a very slight chuckle, he nodded his head.

"Sorry. Next time I'll be there." He replied, eliciting an 'alright!' from the two boys, while Yuna simply smiled gently and clasped her hands together. M-21 could feel his eyes closing as his smile grew, the overwhelming sense of despair and nostalgia that had overcome him before disappearing like it was nothing.

_M-24. I really did love you. I still do. But somehow, it seems that you're no longer my last comrade. Sorry, but it seems that right now, I need to be selfish and make room in my heart for more than just you. _

At that moment, as he grabbed the now-empty tray from Frankenstein and headed back towards the kitchen to pour more drinks, M-21 was sure that he could see his beloved comrade's face once more.

Once again, he was wearing that ever-unfitting grin.


End file.
